Device for supporting stage curtains or the like



Feb. 17, 1942. D. A. WASHBURN DEVICE FOR SUPPORTIKG STAGE CURTAINS ORTHE LIKE Filed D sc. 18 1940 3 Sheets-Sheeti- Feb. 17, 1 942. A} S N2,273,426

DEVICE FOR SUPPORT ING STAGE CURTAINS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 18, 1940 3Sheets-Sheet 2 glnllxlllixxll,

Feb. 17, 1942. D. A. WASHBURN DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING STAGE CURTAINS ORTHE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 18, 1940 Patented Feb. 17, 1942DEVICE FOR SUPPORTING STAGE CURTAINS OR THE LIKE :David A. Was-hburmNewHaven, Conn. Application December 18, 1940, Serial 'No. 370,700

18 Claims.

This invention relates to means for supporting a curtain or "the likesuch as .a stage curtain or drop, and more particularly to the provisionof means by which a stage curtain or cyclorama may be suitably supportedupon a flexible overhead track and rolled up'horizontally upon a drumthe axis of which extends in a vertical direction so that the curtainwill hang freely and smoothly upon the drum.

The supporting :device includes a horizontally extending track whichsuitably guides as well as supports the free end (the end remote fromthe drum) of the curtain so that the latter may have a sinuous or otherform in a horizontal-direction if desired, and at the same time beproperly guided so that it may be readily rolled up or extended withoutinconvenience.

In the past considerable ditliculty :has been encountered in handlingstage curtains or drops of relatively large size. The construction of atower above the stage into which the curtains are .raised entails aconsiderable expense, and the present invention provides for therollingup of the curtain upon a vertical drum, which, while sufficiently largeso that the curtain will not be damaged, requires a relatively smallfloor space.

One obfiect :oi ithekinvention is the provision of a novel supportingmeans .for a rolling curtain or cyclorama.

Another object .of the invention is the provision ot .a supportingdevice 101 a rolling curtain or scyclorama provided with a verticallyextending drum upon which the curtain may be rolled in a horizontaldirection.

A further object of the invention is the provision in a device .of thecharacter described of a guiding track for the :curtain .or .cyclorama,such that the latter may be adjusted .to change the horizontal direction.or shape cf the curtain.

.A still further-abject of the invention .is to provide acableesupported curtain and a novel means for suitably supporting andguiding the cable, and in addition novel means for supporting :the,curtain from the cable so that it may be properly rolled upon .a drum ina horizontal di- 'rec'tion.

A still further object of the invention ,is the provision of a 'cablesupported curtain having a web to which the curtain is secured, whichweb is in turn secured to a flexible cable, and which web is out on 'thebi'as "so that, while 'it may not move parallel to the center axis ofthe cable, it

may rotate or move around the cable owing to stretching of the web. "andwhich :bias-cut supporting "webbing will also perm'itthe -proper roll- 5ing up of the curtain on a winding drum, regardless of the difference indiameter caused by the overlapping of the foldsupon the drum.

.To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel featuresand combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In .the drawings:

Fig. 1 is afront .elevational View of a supporting and operating device.for a stage curtain or cyclorama embodying my invention;

.Fig. 2 .is a sectional view on line 22 .of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the winding drum and associated.parts, some .of which are shown in section; V

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevational view of the upper portion ofthe curtain and the supporting mean-s therefor} Fig. .5 is a sectionalView .on line .5-5 ofFig. .4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of one of the horizontal.seams of the curtain;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 1-7 of Fig. .6;

Fig. .8 is an enlarged top plan view of a portion of the flexible track;I

' Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. .8, showing the parts of the trackadjusted to .a different position or shape;

Fig. 10 is a side elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 8; and

Fig. 11 is a sectional view on line Hll of Fig. 10.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown adrum-supporting frame designated generally .by the numeral Ill, whichframe maybe in turnsupported by cables or rods .1! attached to theceiling or other overhead structure. This frame comprises a downwardlyextending member 12 .to which the curtain track is secured, as will behereinafter described.

Upon the frame it aremounted suitable collars or the like is and M,through which extends rotatably the shaft 15 of the winding drum Hi. Theshaft It may be rotated by any suitable means, a crank I! being shownherein for this purpose, but it will be understood that the device maybe motor-operated if desired. Within the collar l4, as shown in Fig. '3,is secured a nut is which is internally threaded to cooperate with thethreads 19 on the shaft [5, so that as the shaft is rotatedit,together'with the drum [6, will be raised .and lowered according to thepitch of the threads. As will be hereinafter explained, the curtain issupported upon a cable or rope, and the pitch of the threads is soproportioned relatively to the diameter of the cable that the drum willbe raised or lowered a sufiicient amount to enable one turn of the cableto lie directly above the other against the surface of the drum.

The frame l may be suitably anchored laterally by guy ropes or wires 20and 2|. Also rotatably carried by the frame I0 is a shaft 22 carrying atits lower end a roller 23 designed to hold the curtain-supporting cableagainst the supporting drum l6, as will be hereinafter explained, theroller 23 being an idler roller and being driven mrirely by contact withthe curtain or supporting ca le.

The construction of the drum I6 is shown more particularly in Fig. 3,from which it will be seen that the drum is relatively short compared tothe height or vertical dimension of the curtain, and is provided at itslower end with a portion of greater diameter so as to provide an annularupwardly facing shoulder 25, and is provided intermediate its lengthwith a second annular shoulder 26, these shoulders being provided tosupport the curtain-supporting cable and prevent the latter fromslipping downwardly upon the drum. Also upon the shaft below the windingdrum I6 is a second drum 2! adjustable longitudinally of the shaft l5and retained in any desired adjusted position by a set screw 28 passingthrough a collar 29 secured to the portion 21. This lower adjustabledrum portion is designed to be adjusted to the proper position so thatit will hold the folds of the curtain in circular form, as these foldsdepend from their supported upper margins above the shoulder 25. Theparticular position of adjustment of the drum portion 21 will dependupon the characteristics of the curtain employed, it being desirable tohold the folds of the curtain in smooth circular form as they hang fromthe drum.

As has been stated, the curtain is supported upon a cable 30 to which itis secured, as will be hereinafter explained. This cable passes around apulley 3| secured at the end of the flexible curtamsupporting track, aswill be hereinafter ex plained, and the free ends are passed throughopenings 32 and 33 in the drum and there secured to the latter, so that,as the drum rotates, the ends of the cable will be wound thereupon orunwound therefrom, as the case may be. As shown more particularly inFig. 2, one end of the cable passes about one side of the drum, and theother end passes about the other side, so that they will be wound uponthe drum in opposite directions. Therefore, when the drum rotates thecable at one end will be wound upon the drum, and at the other endunwound therefrom, the bight portion passing freely through the pulley3|.

The manner of supporting the curtain or cyclorama from the cable willnow be described. As shown more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5, a pieceof heavy webbing such as canvas, for example, 35, is looped over orwrapped around the cable, and the edge portion secured as by thestitching 36. This material is preferably secured to the cable in someway such as by a layer of adhesive 31 to prevent movement of the weblongitudinally of the cable. The strip 35 is preferably cut on the biasso that the threads will run at an angle of approximately 45 to thehorizontal. The use of a bias-cut webbing permits the webbing to stretchwhen rolled upon the drum l6, and particularly over the annular shoulder25, so that, while the diameter of the roller of the curtain at thispoint will, due to the overlapping of the several folds, be

greater than the diameter of the circular coil of the cable which liesnext to the drum, nevertheless the strip of webbing and curtainsupported thereby will lie flatly and smoothly in a circular roll aboutthe drum. Secured to the lower end of the webbing is a strip of tape 38provided with eyelets or grommets 39 through which cords or laces 46 maybe threaded, which members pass through complementary grommets 4| in theactual curtain or cyclorama 42, whereby the curtain is suitablysupported from the bias-cut webbing 35.

Stage curtains are often of considerable height or great width in avertical direction, and therefore are constructed of several strips ofmaterial Which are overlapped and sewed together, making varioushorizontal seams along the curtain, as shown at 43 in Fig. 7. If it isdesired that the curtain lie flat and not develop vertical wrinkles,this may be prevented by securing at various spaced positions lengths ofhorizontally extending steel tapes or bands 44, as shown in Figs. 6 and7. These bands will preferably be of concavo-convex form, and they willtend to hold the curtain in a flat condition, preventing verticalwrinkles. These bands may be covered by a strip 35 of any suitablematerial. It will be understood that as many of these horizontal bandsas necessary may be provided. Usually, however, it will only benecessary to provide them at the horizontal seams.

From inspection of Fig. 4 it will be observed that the cords or lacessupporting the cyclorama may, if desired, permit the latter to lie infolds below the supporting strip 38, as these cords may be arranged totake any desired direction. If it is desired to have the curtain lie invertical folds, it will be suspended from the grommets 39 by individualcords, which cords will spread apart at their lower ends when thecurtain is wound upon the drum.

The supporting track for the curtain is shown more particularly in Figs.1, 2, and 8 to 11 of the drawings. This supporting track, as shown,comprises two tiers or rows of overlapping blockshaped members 46. Asshown, the block-shaped member 46 at the end of the flexible trackadjacent the frame member I2 is secured to this frame member, so thatthis end of the track will be supported by the frame member. It will benoted that the frame members of one tier are slightly spaced apart, andtheir adjacent end portions are overlapped by the block members of theother tier. These members may be of any rigid material, either wood ormetal, for example. The block members are secured together in superposedposition by means of bolts 41, each block member having a bolt adjacentits ends, one of the bolts passing into one block of the other tier andthe other bolt passing into a second block of the other tier, so thatthe blocks will be arranged in a chain-like formation but will besecured rigidly together when the bolts 41 are tightened. It will beunderstood that if the blocks are arranged, as shown in Fig. 8, so thatthey are all in a straight line, the track will be absolutely straightand will extend rigidly from th supporting member 12. This support atone end will not, however, be sufficient, and cables 48 secured to theceiling or other overhead structure may be arranged at various pointsalong the length of the track and serve as suspending or supportingmembers, these cables being secured at their lower ends to stirrups 49,which are in turn secured to the upper blocks 43.

will also be understood that ii -hen the bolts 4! are loosened,theblocks may be adjusted with respect to each other about these boltsasp'ivots, so that the track may be given any desired sinuous "form, asshown inFigs. 1 and 9. After the proper adjustment is secured, the boltsare again tightened so that the trackw'ill be rigid. Secured to the endblock 46 at the iree end of the track is a member 50 to which the pulley3] is secured, which pulley, as has been-explainedgsupports the curtaincable 30. Suitable guy ropes or Wires 51 "may be secured to thisblockiniorder to give it additional rigidity and prevent any wearingmotion of the "track during the operation of the curtain. it will benoted :from reference to Fig. -9 that angular adjustment of the blocksof one tier relatively "to those in the same tier will be'limited by'the space'between adjacent blocks. That is, this adjustment can becarried no turtherthanthe point shown in that figure, :in which positionthecorner of one block is lodged against the end face of the adjacentblock whereby the v spacing between adjacent blocks limits the which thecurtain .is not attached, and on the lower side of the lower blocks tocarry the lower run of the cable to which the curtain is attached. Theselower sheaves actually serve to support the curtain by reason of thefact that "the cable will be confinedbetween them,andnot be allowed toslip out, and that, as a pair of these rollers is provided adjacent eachend of eachblock closely adjacent the pivot bolts 41, so that the cableswill be properly guided and uniformly supported regardless-of whetherthe track is adjusted to a sinuous or straight horizontal path, tensionon the cable will not tend to deform the track. Moreover, it will alsobe observed that the diameter of the Winding cable and the pitch of thethreads of the shaft l5 will be so related that the'drum will "travel upand down to correspond with the winding of the various turns of thecable thereon, so that both upper and lower'runs' of the cable will bedelivered to the drum at the properheight.

As shown in Fig. l, the curtain is in its extended position. It will benoted that in "that position there are a number of turns of the upperrun of the cable upon the drum, for when the curtain is wound up, theupper run of the cable must be permitted to unwind. If,.therefore, theshaft I5 is rotated when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1,the rotation of the drurnwill efiect the Winding up of the lower run ofthe cable, and the unwinding of the upper run. This lower run of thecable which carries the curtain will be supported by the shoulder 25upon the drum, so that it cannot slip downwardly. When one turn of thedrum has been made, the latter will be lowered by means of the threads'I 9 on'the shaft P5, so that the next turn of the cable will beproperly delivered to lie closely above the first turn, and succeedingturns will be likewise disposed. At the same time the lowering of thedrum will bring the second turn of the upper run of the cable downwardlyopposite the guide sheaves 252 on the-supporting track, so that theywill be properly-delivered thereto, and succeeding turns willlikewise bebrought to the proper position. The idler roller 23 will press againstthe cable to keep it in contact with the drum above the shoulder 25 orabove a lower turn of the cable, andw ill .hold the cable and curtain inpositionatthis pointiin case the cable should break.

It will be noted thatas the curtain is wound up'upon the drum thediameter of the roll formed thereby will get larger and larger assucceeding turns are'p'laced oneon top of the other, and'will, ofcourse, be larger opposite the shoulder 25 than elsewhere.- "Ihisenlargement, however, is readily taken care of by the stretching of thebias-cut webbing 815, so that the curtain will lie in :a smooth circularroll depending freely from the drum, and may be wou nd upor extendedwithout any danger of injury.

The extension of the curtain is, of course, accomplished by the rotationof the drum in the opposite direction, as will be clearly understood.

W-hile I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, itwill be understood that it is not to be limited to all thedetails shown, but is capable :of modification and variation within thespirit of the invention-and :within the scope of theappended claims. I

What I claim "is:

1. In a device for movablyj suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cable-guiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of .said member, a cable engaged with said guidingmeans the ends o'f which are adapted to be wound on said drum, asuitably supported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable istrained, .said sheet being secured to :said cable, and a portion of said:c'able being supported as well as guided by saidguiding means. i 9

2. Ina device tormovably suspending a sheet of thin material, .asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means :on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent :one end ofsaid membergacable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted *to be wound on said drum, s3. suitablysupported pulley about which the biglht "portion of the cable istrained, said sheet being secured to said :cable, said guid ing meansbeing disposed in sets one above an'd one below said member, and the runof the c'able engaging' thelower set having the sheet secured theretoand biein'g supported against sagging by saidg-uiding means.

'3. In'ia device for movably suspending a sheet of, thin material, asuitably supported substantial ly horizontally extending cnem be-r,"cable guiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatabledrum adjacent one 'end of :said member, a cable engaged with saidguiding means the ends of which are adapted to be Wound on said drum,suitable supported "pulley about which the light portion of the cable istrained,

said sheet being secured to said cable, and said the ends of which areadapted to be wound on said drum, a suitably supported pulley aboutwhich the bight portion of th cable is trained, said sheet being securedto said cable, and said member being articulated whereby its shape maybe changed in the direction of its length.

5. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitablysupported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained,said sheet being secured to said cable, and said supporting membercomprising jointed sections secured together for relative adjustment ina direction transverse to the longitudinal dimension of said member.

6. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitablysupported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained,said sheet being secured to said cable, said 'supporting membercomprising jointed sections secured together for relative adjustment ina direction transverse to the longitudinal dimension of said member, andmeans for securing said sections rigidly together after adjustment topredetermined positions.

7. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitablysupported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained,said sheet being securedto said cable, said member comprising sectionspivoted together for relative movement one with respect to another, andmeans for rigidly securing said sections in a given position ofadjustment to form a rigid structure.

8. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitablysupported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained,said sheet being secured to said cable, and a portion of said cablebeing supported as well as guided by said guiding means, said drumhaving an annular shoulder thereon to support the turns of the cablefrom below.

9. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitablysupported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained,said sheet being secured tosaid cable, a portion of said cable beingsupported as well as guided by said guiding means, and means for movingsaid drum in a vertical direction during the rotation thereof.

10. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged rotatable drumadjacent one end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding meansthe ends of which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitablysupported pulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained,said sheet being secured to said cable, said member comprisingaplurality of sections arranged in upper and lower tiers, and eachsection of one tier having its ends overlapping the adjacent sections ofthe other tier and attached thereto.

11. In a device for movably suspending a sheet of thin material, asuitably supported substantially horizontally extending member,cableguiding means on said member, a vertically arranged drum adjacentone end of said member, a cable engaged with said guiding means the endsof which are adapted to be wound on said drum, a suitably supportedpulley about which the bight portion of the cable is trained, said sheetbeing secured to said cable, said member comprising a plurality ofsections arranged in upper and lower tiers, and each section of one tierhaving its ends overlapping the adjacent sections of the other tier andadjustably secured thereto for relative movement in a directiontransverse to the longitudinal dimension of the member.

12. In a device for movably supporting a curtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a drum adjacent one end of the memberupon which the cable is adapted to be wound, a strip of bias-cut webbingsecured to the cable, and a curtain supported by said webbing wherebysaid webbing may stretch when Wound upon the drum.

13. In a device for movably supporting a curtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a drum adjacent one end of the memberupon which the cable is adapted to be wound, a strip of webbing securedto said cable, a curtain secured to the webbing, and the threads of saidwebbing extending at an angle to the horizontal to permit the curtain tobe wound evenly on said drum.

14. In a device for movably supporting a curtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a drum adjacent one end of the memberupon which the cable is adapted to be wound, a strip of bias-cut webbingsecured to the cable, a curtain, and laces securing said curtain to thewebbing to freely suspend the curtain therefrom.

15. In a device for movably supporting a curtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a drum adjacent one end of the memberupon which the cable is adapted to be wound, a curtain suspended fromsaid cable, and wrinkle-preventing means secured to said curtain, saidmeans comprising a plurality of stifiening strips each extendinghorizontally across the curtain and arranged in spaced relationvertically thereof.

16. In a device for movably supporting a curtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a drum adjacent one end of the memberupon which the cable is adapt- I ed to be wound, a curtain suspendedfrom said cable, and wrinkle-preventing means secured to said curtain,said means comprising a plurality of stiffening strips each extendinghorizontally across the curtain and arranged in spaced relationvertically thereof, and said strips comprising thin metallic members ofconcavo-convex form in cross section.

17. In a device for movably supporting at ourtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a drum adjacent one end of the memberupon which the cable is adapted to be wound, a strip of bias-cut webbingflexibly secured to the cable to be restrained against longitudinalmovement thereon, and a curtain supported by said webbing whereby saidwebbing may stretch when wound upon the drum.

18. In a device for movably supporting a curtain or like sheet ofmaterial, a substantially horizontally disposed supporting member, acable supported by said member, a strip of bias-cut webbing secured tothe cable for a portion of the length of the latter, a curtain securedto the webbing, a multiple diameter drum adjacent one end of thesupporting member, the portion of said cable to which the webbing issecured being wound upon one portion of the drum and the bare cablebeing wound upon a drum portion of diflerent diameter, said bias-cutwebbing permitting portions of the cable to be wound evenly on the drum.

DAVID A. WASHBURN.

